Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Shock Doctrine Editionhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/
Financial talk for the rest of usTue, 14 Oct 2014 16:18:02 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0By: Georgehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-665610
Mon, 18 May 2009 02:40:09 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-665610What took so long for you to find the Klein? Before you watch John Cusak’s WAR,INC, screened initially at last year’s Tribeca Film Fest, you might even take a look at the Cusak-Wolf discussion on YouTube. (His film was influenced by her study.)
]]>By: Matshttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-656429
Fri, 08 May 2009 14:41:54 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-656429Sorry, it should say: Read Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom and make up your own mind.
]]>By: Matshttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-656427
Fri, 08 May 2009 14:40:42 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-656427Trent,

It’s sad to find you have been taken in by Klein’s intellectually deceptive, intellectually dishonest 500-page Shoc Doctrine.

Have you made no googling at all of the book and its absurd claims?

For a starter I recommend you read Johan Norberg’s excellent piece “Defaming Milton Friedman” in the october issue of Reason Magazine.

Secondly, go to the sources. Read Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Friedman and make up your own mind.

Best regards,

Mats

]]>By: Carloshttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-655240
Thu, 07 May 2009 14:16:25 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-655240In reference to Shock Doctrine, Johan Norberg makes a good argument against the facts presented in the book by Naomi Klein. It appears that Naomi Klein played fast and loose with historical facts in order to prop up her argument. When one looks at the history of nations during a times a crisis, one sees a transfer of power from individuals and corporations to the the government, not from the goverment and individuals to the coporations. Can anyone truly say that GM, Chrysler, and investment banks have more power and influence now than before the recent economic crisis.

]]>By: Johannahttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-655235
Thu, 07 May 2009 14:04:28 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-655235Maybe you should be doing more than minimal additional research, then. :)

1. That table you link to was compiled by Wikipedians. It was not part of the original study.

2. In the discussion that follows, the Wikipedians admit that they really have no idea what versions of the articles were actually used in the study, or how long they were. The article lengths included in the table are merely guesses.

3. Some of those guesses cannot possibly be right, because in the supplementary information for the study, it states: “We chose fifty entries from the websites of Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica on subjects that represented a broad range of scientific disciplines. Only entries that were approximately the same length in both encyclopaedias were selected. In a small number of cases some material, such as reference lists, was removed to bring the length of the entries closer together.” Note the “approximately the same length” part.

4. The errors identified in the study include errors of omission – which are probably more prevalent in shorter articles than in longer ones – so the number of errors per word is not necessarily a good measure of overall accuracy.

5. Britannica, not Brittanica.

]]>By: Trenthttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-655217
Thu, 07 May 2009 13:32:38 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-655217Johanna, minimal additional research shows the fallacy of that statement. If you look at a true comparison of the two, including article length as a factor, Brittanica has an error rate of 0.0054106 per word, while Wikipedia has an error rate of 0.0035798 per word.

Wikipedia has more raw errors because Wikipedia’s articles are significantly longer and more detailed than Brittanica’s. Per word, per fact, Wikipedia is more accurate.

]]>By: Johannahttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-655172
Thu, 07 May 2009 12:18:18 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-655172Dude, if you were to read all the way to the end of that BBC article, you would know that that study found *more* errors in Wikipedia than in the Encyclopedia Britannica. How that translates into Wikipedia being the more accurate of the two sources, I don’t know, dude. (Also, dude, if you were to look into the details of how the study was actually carried out, you would find a lot of really sketchy stuff that very likely skewed the results in Wikipedia’s favor. And they still didn’t even come out ahead.)

That said, Wikipedia’s reliability depends on how you use it. For obscure information or very controversial subjects, you shouldn’t put too much trust in it (or in any other single source). But for basic information about well-established subjects, it’s fine. I use it all the time for work-related stuff.

]]>By: tedhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654712
Thu, 07 May 2009 01:52:24 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654712Guys, come on. Shock Doctrine? That book was the most ridiculous piece of tripe I have ever read in my life. I guess if a belief in free markets = corporatism then you may have a point. However, lets be honest here, her treatment of Milton Friedman in that book is nothing short of mendacious and most of her ‘facts’ are taken wildly out of context.
]]>By: Bill in Houstonhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654381
Wed, 06 May 2009 22:35:42 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654381Actually, it said, “The free online resource Wikipedia is about as accurate on science as the Encyclopedia Britannica, a study shows.”

That doesn’t say much. I prefer a lot more source material than something any schmedrick can edit.

Dude!

]]>By: Trenthttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654374
Wed, 06 May 2009 22:32:41 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654374“Dude, Wikipedia is not an accurate source for information”

]]>By: Ali Halehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654263
Wed, 06 May 2009 20:57:42 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654263Just wanted to say thanks for linking to my “How to be frugal without being miserable” post on Dumb Little Man. Your blogging here on The Simple Dollar was a large part of the inspiration for it! I feel that frugality is about getting *more* from life, not less — spending wisely to maximise the amount of fun and usefulness you get from your money!
]]>By: Bill in Houstonhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654169
Wed, 06 May 2009 18:59:54 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654169Dude, Wikipedia is not an accurate source for information. It is really only for amusement. It is way too easy to change entries in there.

That being said, I may look into Shock Doctrine. While I do like to keep track what the far left is thinking, I spend too much time trying to keep steam from issuing forth from my ears. I’ve read No Logo and came to the conclusion that she didn’t know what she was talking about.

Interesting article about regular writing. I agree with the article and with your comment. I’ve been a writer (technical, mostly) for 21 years.

]]>By: Philip Brewerhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654168
Wed, 06 May 2009 18:58:43 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654168Thanks for the kind words!
]]>By: Michaelhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654164
Wed, 06 May 2009 18:55:36 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654164What have you read that has been merely fascinating?
]]>By: John at PlainCents.comhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654131
Wed, 06 May 2009 18:27:29 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654131Loved the post on how not to be miserable while being frugal. We all need things to keep us entertained and enjoying life. The real value of life truly needs to be our focus. Thanks for posting the link Trent!
]]>By: Alonsohttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654117
Wed, 06 May 2009 18:07:09 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654117An excelent rebuttal to Klein´s science fiction book by Johan Norberg. Worth reading after you read her book.

]]>By: Pathttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654070
Wed, 06 May 2009 16:44:49 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654070Klein’s writing style is engaging but her opinions completely miss the mark and devolve into populist progressive rhetoric. She clearly does not understand libertarianism as she associates it with conservatives and corporatism which is absurd.

]]>By: Eric Mesahttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654069
Wed, 06 May 2009 16:40:55 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654069Of course, if more and more people start using the kindle you won’t be able to swap paperbacks.
]]>By: Tamarahttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654051
Wed, 06 May 2009 16:20:46 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654051I haven’t yet read the Shock Doctrine, but I did hear Naomi Klein speak a few months ago, and she was absolutely fascinating. I am glad you so enjoyed her book.
]]>By: Joehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-simple-dollar-weekly-roundup-shock-doctrine-edition/#comment-654039
Wed, 06 May 2009 16:04:45 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=3529#comment-654039I also read “The Shock Doctrine” about a month ago and agree that it is a worldview-changer. It completely shook my faith in unfettered free markets and privatization.
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